Some bands make an impact on you on the big stage, others in a tiny bar with next to no crowd, others can wow you in a club atmosphere. Hothouse Flowers completed a trifecta rarely achieved for me tonight. As a fan of their debut 1988 album ‘People’ Hothouse Flowers were a diversion from what I was listening to at the time. I guess it was the honesty, the beauty in their sound.
In late November 1991 I got to see Hothouse Flowers live not once but twice and in Hobart, Tasmania of all places. The first time was by pure accident. It was the night before their first Hobart show with Dire Straits. It was a Thursday night and across the road for the local watering hole and hang out was another live music venue. As it happened there was a band playing and they didn’t have a name, so I went and checked them out. Low and behold it was Hothouse Flowers and an audience of maybe thirty to forty of us. We were treated to a couple of sets from the band that included covers and their own material. Blown away was an understatement. The band were riding high on their incredible second record ‘Home’, yet they remained humble down-to-earth humans. What I experienced that night was simply magic. The following night they opened for Dire Straits and for me they wiped the floor with Dire Straits. All that organic goodness from the night before became elevated and their performance was incredible.
Then we have tonight at The Corner Hotel a room that jammed just over eight hundred people into it to witness the Hothouse Flowers brand of musical magic. The demographic was more mature as you would expect and not the usual Corner Hotel crowd. Seeing faces light up from the anticipation of what would be tonight’s show is hard to describe. The energy was warm, inviting and inclusive.
Warming things up tonight was Irish born Melbourne living solo artist Mark Caplice delivered an incredible, heartfelt and inspiring set of songs that were delivered with so much heart. Tales of heartbreak, stories of hope and positivity flooded from him and the performance was a great way to warm everyone up. The fact that Caplice played to a pretty much full room which was great as he really seemed to connect and win a slew of new fans. I am one of them.
Opening with an extended intro for ‘I Can See Cleary Now’ the Jimmy Cliff song the band put a breath of fresh air into in 1990, it gently allowed us to enter the music and let it sweep through us all before dragging us through a rocked out final verse and chorus then dropped it back to how it began, what a ride we are on and we are only one song in. Liam O Maonlai addresses the audience by saying “It’s hard to believe that just twenty minutes ago we were all asleep on the couch in that dressing room. Secondly this is a hired keyboard and it looks like Tony Hadley from Spandau Ballet used it before us as all the presets are true” What a way to start tonight off. This twelve-minute version is simply sublime. Before we know it the band has merged into ‘Movies’ a groove filled journey into the third single from their “Home” album.
Mark Caplice Gallery
From my position sitting in the photo pit for the first three songs, you get to hear things as a mix of what’s on stage and what is coming from the crowd.
On record Hothouse Flowers have these lush vocal harmonies that float in layers. Tonight, the audience played that part. Pitch perfect, thick and beautifully ambient with Liam O Maonlai’s vocals guiding them. It wasn’t until I turned around and briefly absorbed what was hearing that I truly understood what I was caught in the middle of. Pure audible bliss. It was evident too that the band could hear The Corner Hotel choir.
‘Isn’t it amazing’ is next and by this point I completely lost in the music, the charm of O Maonlai in his pointed woven hat, irish blanket draped around him, untucked white shirt, track pants and bare feet simply added to the feel in the room. Organic, stripped back and in a way a touch unrefined. His voice is soul full of grit, soul and emotion. I’m smiling like a Cheshire cat by now.
Smiles appeared on the band faces when they felt and heard what was happening in the room too. This is the magic of live music and a testament to the fans who have waited twenty years and some for the bands return. When you think about it for a band that hasn’t toured Australia for twenty years to sell out not one but three shows at one of Melbourne’s most iconic venues is nothing but astounding and a true testament to the power of this band and their music.
What strikes me as being so very unique is that the band has no setlist, and rumour has it they never play the same set twice, which when you think about it required a connection between the band to be able to pick from their catalogue and deliver a set of songs without flinching or fumbling, the segways are flawless and showcases the incredible musical depth and understanding each member of this band has each with the others.
There were no fancy visuals and a mostly static near ambient lighting production let the music really do the talking without distraction. Colour changes and spotlight movements were the only real production values. Pure elegance in simplicity.
As the set progresses it’s interesting to note that there is an absence of sorts of the hits as the band decided to lean a little more heavily into songs from their third album “Songs From The Rain” and stepped into Liam O Maonlai’s solo material. Traditional Irish influence and musical culture had a strong presence in the set. This set came from the soul of the band tonight. I simply can’t explain it any other way.
While tonight’s set excluded the safe options of songs like “I’m Sorry” (possibly my favourite Hothouse Flowers song), “Easier In The morning”, “Feet On The Ground” and Christchurch Bells”.
Power can be delivered in so many ways and Hothouse Flowers know all the definitions, whether it be through the upbeat drive of “Don’t Go” which included band introductions and extended jams to the minute silence that fell after the haunting “If You Go” the whole spectrum was on show tonight. Each song was an adventure and experience of its own.
Musically this band are simply perfect Fiachna O Braonain (guitars) is such a delight to watch, every chord, every solo, every chord progression came with impact and intent. Electric bassist, tin whistler and bouzouki player Peter O’Toole was superb, and his depth of ability served perfectly playing what was required, filling out and defining the intricacies of Hothouse Flowers sound. Drummer Dave Clarke is just next level; his playing pushed the emotion and feel of the songs tonight. His technical delicacies are beautiful yet has this power that accelerates the musicality of the music. Upright bassist Martin Brunsden is a man who becomes one with his instrument, a ball of smiles and so much passion in his playing.
Tonight was about moving forward, sliding back and visiting musical places you rarely get to experience. There was an elegance and real human touch to this performance. It connected you in ways I simply can’t put into words. It touched your soul, spoke to your heart and captivated you. The profound moments of awe surrounded you with magic as if to lead you into an altered state of consciousness. This truly is as close to a religious experience as you can get. It was as if you were brought into the music, the atmosphere and heart of these songs.
Given the response to these shows the only thing I would have changed is the venue. The Palais Theatre would have been perfect for this show and the demographic of tonight’s crowd. The negative there is that it would have only given fans a chance to see them once and not three times. Sometimes things don’t and can’t align perfectly but hopefully they will be back sooner rather than later to captivate us all again.
In a year that has just begun picking a favourite show is near impossible to pick but tonight will be hard to beat. Two hours of being mesmerised and captivated is something that I won’t easily forget. Just as they did thirty-five years ago, Hothouse Flowers simply blew me away.
Setlist : I Can See Clearly Now, Movies, Isn’t It Amazing, Three Sisters, Your Nature, Be Good, One Tongue, An Raibh Tu Ar An Gcarraig, Sweet Marie, Give It Up, This Is It (Your Soul), Don’t Go
Encore : If You Go, Si Do Mhamo I, (Untitled).
Hothouse Flowers Gallery
